This privacy collection notice relates to tobacco licences.
Why we are collecting your personal information
The Ministry of Health is responsible for delivering a tobacco licensing scheme under the Public Health (Tobacco) Act 2008. The Ministry of Health has partnered with Service NSW to make it easier to apply for, manage and renew, a licence under the scheme.
The Ministry of Health and Service NSW are collecting your personal information as part of your application:
- for a licence to retail or wholesale tobacco or non-tobacco smoking products in NSW
- to renew a licence
- to amend details of an existing licence.
The purpose of the collection is to assess your eligibility to hold or renew a retail or wholesale licence to sell tobacco or non-tobacco smoking products in NSW, as well as to support requests to amend details of your licence. The information you provide will also be used in relation to ongoing management and compliance purposes.
Types of personal information we collect
Before applying for a licence, you will be required to use or create a MyServiceNSW Account and provide the following additional details to Service NSW:
- details from proof of identity documents (such as a driver's licence, Australian passport, or Medicare card) so that we can verify your identity information with the Document Verification Service (DVS).
When you apply for a licence or to renew your licence, the Ministry of Health will collect additional information about:
- you, including your full name, date of birth and address
- your retail premises, online business, or wholesale business
- the person with responsibility for running the retail premises (the "designated person")
- any relevant person, other than the applicant, who is responsible for the corporate entity applying for the licence (if applicable).
We collect this information from you when you complete the application for a tobacco licence, or a renewal application. This information will also be collected if you are seeking to amend details of your current licence, surrender your licence or notify the Secretary, NSW Health of a relevant tobacco-related offence.
For new licence applications you will also be required to provide the following documents to the Ministry of Health or Service NSW as part of your application:
- A National Police check document provided by the applicant (not less than 3 months old)
- An ASIC extract relevant to your business structure. This may include a company register, the business names register or both, depending on whether you operate as a company, trust, partnership or sole trader.
- A signed Relevant Person Declaration and Consent from each relevant person, other than the applicant, who is responsible for the corporate entity applying for the licence. The signed declaration authorises the Ministry of Health or Service NSW to undertake a criminal record check of the relevant persons.
For applications to renew a licence, you will be required, where applicable, to provide the following documents to the Ministry of Health or Service NSW as part of your application:
- An ASIC extract relevant to your business structure. This may include a company register, the business names register or both, depending on whether you operate as a company, trust, partnership or sole trader.
- A signed Relevant Person's Declaration and Consent from each relevant person, other than the applicant, who is responsible for the corporate entity applying for the licence. The signed declaration authorises the Ministry of Health or Service NSW to undertake a criminal record check of the relevant persons.
If you provide the personal information of another person, you must obtain authorisation from that person to disclose their personal information to the Ministry of Health and Service NSW for the purposes outlined in this notice.
The Public Health (Tobacco) Act 2008 and Public Health (Tobacco) Regulation 2022 authorises the Ministry of Health and Service NSW to collect and share certain information about you with Commonwealth, state and territory law enforcement agencies and other government agencies in NSW or from a Commonwealth, state or territory agency operating a similar tobacco licensing scheme. The next section of this notice provides more information on these circumstances.
How we will use and disclose this information
The Ministry of Health and Service NSW share all information provided under the tobacco licensing scheme between the two agencies for the purposes outlined in this notice.
We use the personal information we collect for the primary purpose that it was collected for, or a directly related secondary purpose. This includes to:
- assess your eligibility to apply for, hold or renew a retail or wholesale licence to sell tobacco or non-tobacco smoking products in NSW
- contact you about your application, including to request additional information from you or respond to your enquiry
- manage your licence(s), including amending details of a licence
- enable you to surrender your licence
- undertake compliance programs in relation to tobacco retailing and wholesaling laws.
The Ministry of Health and Service NSW will disclose information in your application to:
- the issuer of any document you provide as evidence in your application (including the criminal history check) for the purpose of confirming the accuracy of the information with the issuer.
- the register of licences that is required to be maintained under the Public Health (Tobacco) Act 2008
- Commonwealth, state or territory agencies as appropriate, in connection with the administration and management of a similar tobacco licensing scheme.
- Australian law enforcement agencies (such as the NSW Police, Australian Federal Police, or Australian Border Force) for:
- the purposes of assessing your eligibility to hold a tobacco or non-tobacco smoking product licence in accordance with the Public Health (Tobacco) Act 2008 or Public Health (Tobacco) Regulation 2022; and
- law enforcement purposes.
We have partnered with Digital NSW (part of the Department of Customer Service) to provide software services to enable us to process and administer the tobacco licensing scheme.
Whether you are required by law to provide us with this information
You are required under the Public Health (Tobacco) Act 2008 and Public Health (Tobacco) Regulation 2022 to provide certain information by law. This information is required to assess your eligibility to hold a retail or wholesale licence to sell tobacco or non-tobacco smoking products.
If you choose not to provide this information, we will not be able to assess your eligibility to hold a retail or wholesale licence to sell tobacco or non-tobacco smoking products, or to renew a licence, amend details of a licence, or surrender a licence.
Further information
Read the Ministry of Health Privacy Management Plan. You can also contact:
- NSW Ministry of Health, 1 Reserve Road, St Leonards NSW 2065
- MoH-tobaccolicensing@health.nsw.gov.au